


Be Present

by AlexHunt



Category: Choices - Fandom, Hollywood U: Rising Star, Red Carpet Diaries (Visual Novel)
Genre: Advice, F/M, Insecurities, Struggling, artist struggles, creative block, insecure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24407128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexHunt/pseuds/AlexHunt
Summary: This takes place during Red Carpet Diaries Book 3, Chapter 3. Alex offers Thomas Hunt advice on his creative struggle.
Relationships: Thomas Hunt/Alex Spencer, Thomas Hunt/Main Character, Thomas Hunt/Main Character (Red Carpet Diaries), Thomas Hunt/Original Character(s), Thomas Hunt/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	Be Present

**Thomas Hunt Masterlists/Series: [[Red Carpet Diaries](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964902)] || [[Hollywood U](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22962352)] || [[Love & Scotch (HWU/Open Heart Crossover](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23099863/chapters/55265896))] || [[#HollywoodHacks (HWU/LoveHacks Crossover)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23933341/chapters/57554176)] || [[The Bogart Diaries Series (RCD-Puppy Hunt](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24210658/chapters/58322749))]**

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

“To be honest with you, I’m starting to wonder if the next idea will ever come,” Thomas admitted his gaze shifting over the smooth geometric surfaces glistening with bold colors. “I truly feel stuck… I know I’m being ridiculous, I just can’t seem to help it.” **  
**

“Thomas,” Alex breathed softly, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. She knew he was in the midst of a creative block, but she hadn’t realized how deeply his struggles went.

He turned into her, his uncertain eyes weighing heavily on him. “I feel like there’s something wrong with me.” 

She wrapped her arm around his, as they moved into the next room of the exhibition. A handful of patrons mulled about, each captivated by the illuminating art, offering them a bit of privacy. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Thomas. A creative drought doesn’t make you any less brilliant or incredible. You will get through this. I know it!”

“I appreciate your vote of confidence. However, I am unsure I deserve such beliefs,” he sighed dejectedly. “Perhaps, it’s time to accept that this is it for me, that it is possible I have no more to offer.”

“Don’t do that! Don’t devalue your worth based on your productivity. Everyone needs a break, even the great Thomas Hunt.” Her thumb brushed over his beard as she tried to break through the wall she felt him slowly building back up brick by brick. “You are more than what you create. You’re more to _me_! You have everything to offer _me_. The rest will come. I know it. But don’t do this to yourself. I need you!”

“Alex,” her name quietly exhaled from his lips. “I didn’t–”

“Come with me,” she interrupted, taking his hand and dragging him across the gallery.

She led him to a small room in the corner furthest away from the “Living Sculpture”, the exhibition’s main attraction. As they entered the room, the darkness of the black walls enveloped them. Tiny lights oscillated around the room, dancing through the unknown.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, leaning into him. “Close your eyes.”

He chuckled softly, “Why? It’s already dark.”

“Just do it!” Alex demanded. Under the dim twinkling light, she could just about make out he had done as requested. Her arms dropped away from him, as she took a small step back, leaving him there. “Just _listen_.” 

“To what?” he questioned.

“Everything,” she answered, closing her own eyes. “I know you. You get so focused on details and trying to make sense of everything that you forget to be present. I wonder if you even saw half the works of art we’ve visited… truly saw them for more than their physical properties, but for all they are. Your mind is turning over and over again, racing against itself to find an answer, but when you don’t stop to just be present, you lose all the magic of the moment. Just listen, take in every sound you hear, loud and hushed. No detail is too small.”

After a few minutes, she moved closer to him, her fingers traipsing up his arm, settling on the nape of his neck. “Let yourself _feel_. Focus on every little touch.” Her voice was a whisper in his ear, the warmth of her breath tickling his neck. Her lips hovered over his skin, ever so slightly until she let them drag across his jaw; his beard tingling as she moved with a painstaking pace. Finally, she brushed a kiss over his cheek. “Every touch is a memory waiting to be born… Your turn, but keep your eyes close.”

His hands found her hips, pulling her flushed against him as they traveled down behind her. She didn’t need to see to imagine the smirk playing on his lips as he gently squeezed her. 

“Good.” She bit her lip trying not to laugh. “Now, smell. Smell is an important but often overlooked sense. A familiar scent can trigger old memories and intense emotions. All of which may bring back a time or place that you have forgotten about that could spark inspiration… Inhale slowly, try to let your mind wander as you do so.”

She placed her hand on his chest, capturing the rise and fall of each breath he took. 

“Now, open your eyes. Follow the movement of the lights across the room. Let their motion, ease your thoughts. Be present. Nothing outside of this room—this moment—matters.”

The shifting lights lit up the darkness like stars in the sky. As their eyes adjusted to the environment, more and more details were visible. In fact, not all the lights were real— it was part of the illusion, some were merely reflections off of well placed, almost invisible, mirrors. 

“I don’t know if that helped,” Alex shrugged. “I hope it did. I find that when my mind is racing and I feel like I can’t catch up, grounding myself in a moment offers some relief and perspective. No matter what happens, you’re not alone in this.”

“Thank you!” Thomas cradled her face in his hands. “You are the best part of my life and that in itself is all I could need…But you forgot one of the senses.”

“Did I?” She teased. “I wonder which one that–” 

Before she could finish the thought, his lips had captured hers. He poured all of his emotions, doubts, and fears into that kiss. Trying to follow her advice and let every bit of that moment be all that any part of him felt or thought. Living in the moment was not something he had ever been particularly good at… actually, it went against everything he had ever felt. But in theory, she was right, a single moment could offer endless possibilities if he just let himself be present.

***

_A/N:: I’ve definitely been struggling with creativity and motivation lately… I have moments that I felt like Hunt in RCD3. I know it is ridiculous to get this upset with myself over creativity, and I know that fighting myself only makes it worse, but like Hunt I can’t seem to help myself. So, as I struggle like Hunt, it made me think of what might I tell someone else if they had this struggle. So I guess I’m Hunt, but I’m trying to be Alex and give myself this same advice? I apologize if this is a rambling mess. I definitely fought back and forth with myself as I wrote it._


End file.
